Feds buying million dollar ‘green’ buses

The Federal Transit Authority is spending $54.5 million to purchase 60 electric buses and charging stations for public transit systems across the country, costing taxpayers nearly $1 million per bus.

The FTA announced the projects last week as part of their Low and No Emission Vehicle Deployment Program, which provides funds to replace public buses with electric and hybrid vehicles. Local transit authorities in California, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas will receive the electric buses, according to The Washington Free Beacon.

“The main purpose of the LoNo Program is to deploy the cleanest and most energy efficient U.S.-made transit buses that have been largely proven in testing and demonstrations but are not yet widely deployed in transit fleets,” the FTA said.

The latest round of projects will cost $54,469,249, providing 60 electric and hybrid buses and associated charging stations, at an average cost of roughly $907,820.82 a piece. A diesel bus costs about $300,000. Seven of the 10 projects are providing millions to purchase Proterra battery-electric buses, which cost about $850,000.